Aug. 21, 2015

Museum Plays Art and Technology Matchmaker

When the Los Angeles County Museum of Art launched its first Art & Technology program back in 1967, the idea of artists and technologists collaborating was radical—and the art world wasn’t quite ready. The program paired some of the biggest names in 20th-century art (among them, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Claes Oldenburg) with scientists and engineers from Southern California’s technology sector. The aim was to see what new kinds of art artists and technologists could create together. But despite some successful collaborations, the program was discontinued after only four years. Until now.

Last year, LACMA revived its Art & Technology program. SciArts Producer Annie Minoff shares the story of a collaboration between a public artist and an augmented reality entrepreneur. And historian Patrick McCray joins Ira to talk about the legacy of LACMA’s first Art & Technology program. (See LACMA's exhibition about the Art & Technology program, on view through October 25.)

See John Craig Freeman’s augmented reality artwork "EEG AR Things We Have Lost" for yourself! For information about finding and viewing avatars and lost objects around Los Angeles, click HERE.

This map notes the location of avatars and lost objects included in John Craig Freeman’s artwork "EEG AR Things We Have Lost."